Editorial Note on Part 648
Editorial Note: Nomenclature changes to part 648 appear at 62 FR 14651, Mar. 27, 1997.

§ 648.52 Possession and landing limits. ( a ) *IFQ trips* — ( 1 ) *Open area trips.* A vessel issued an IFQ scallop permit that is declared into the IFQ scallop fishery in the open area, as specified in § 648.10(f), or on a properly declared NE multispecies, surfclam, or ocean quahog trip (or other fishery requiring a VMS declaration) and not fishing in a scallop access area, unless as specified in paragraph (g) of this section or exempted under the state waters exemption program described in § 648.54, may not possess or land, per trip, more than 600 lb (272 kg) of shucked scallops, or possess more than 4,998 lb (2,267 kg) of in-shell scallops shoreward of the VMS Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may land scallops only once in any calendar day. Such a vessel may possess up to 6,664 lb (3,023 kg) of in-shell scallops seaward of the VMS Demarcation Line on a properly declared IFQ scallop trip, or on a properly declared NE multispecies, surfclam, or ocean quahog trip, or other fishery requiring a VMS declaration, and not fishing in a scallop access area.
( 2 ) *Access area trips.* A vessel issued an IFQ scallop permit that is declared into the IFQ Scallop Access Area Program, as specified in § 648.10(f), may not possess or land, per trip, more than 800 lb (363 kg) of shucked scallops, or possess more than 6,664 lb (3,023 kg) of in-shell scallops shoreward of the VMS Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may land scallops only once in any calendar day. Such a vessel may possess up to 6,664 lb (3,023 kg) of in-shell scallops seaward of the VMS Demarcation Line on a properly declared IFQ scallop access area trip.
( b ) *NGOM trips.* A vessel issued a NGOM scallop permit, or an IFQ scallop permit that is declared into the NGOM scallop fishery and fishing against the NGOM Set-Aside as described in § 648.62, unless exempted under the state waters exemption program described under § 648.54, may not possess or land, per trip, more than 200 lb (90.7 kg) of shucked scallops, or possess more than 1,666 lb (756) of in-shell scallops shoreward of the VMS Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may land scallops only once in any calendar day. Such a vessel may possess up to 3,332 lb (1,511 kg) of in-shell scallops seaward of the VMS demarcation line on a properly declared NGOM scallop fishery trip.
( c ) *Incidental trips.* A vessel issued an Incidental scallop permit, or an IFQ scallop permit that is not declared into the IFQ scallop fishery or on a properly declared NE multispecies, surfclam, or ocean quahog trip or other fishery requiring a VMS declaration as required under § 648.10(f), unless exempted under the state waters exemption program described under § 648.54, may not possess or land, per trip, more than 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked scallops, or possess more than 333 lb (151 kg) of in-shell scallops shoreward of the VMS Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may land scallops only once in any calendar day. Such a vessel may possess up to 666 lb (302 kg) of in-shell scallops seaward of the VMS Demarcation Line.
( d ) *Limited access vessel access area trips.* Owners or operators of vessels with a limited access scallop permit that have properly declared into the Scallop Access Area Program as described in § 648.59 are prohibited from fishing for or landing per trip, or possessing at any time, scallops in excess of any sea scallop possession and landing limit set by the Regional Administrator in accordance with § 648.59(b)(3).
( e ) *Limited access vessel open area in-shell scallop possession limit.* Owners or operators of vessels issued limited access permits are prohibited from fishing for, possessing, or landing per trip more than 3,332 lb (1,511 kg) of in-shell scallops shoreward of the VMS Demarcation Line, unless when fishing under the state waters exemption specified under § 648.54.
( f ) *Limited access vessel access area in-shell scallop possession limit.* A limited access vessel that is declared into the Scallop Area Access Program as described in § 648.59, may not possess more than 3,332 lb (1,511 kg) of in-shell scallops outside of the Access Areas described in § 648.60.
( g ) *Possession limit to defray the cost of observers for LAGC IFQ vessels.* An LAGC IFQ vessel with an observer on board may retain, per observed trip, an allowance of scallops in addition to the possession limit, as established by the Regional Administrator in accordance with § 648.53(g), provided the observer set-aside specified in § 648.53(a)(8) has not been fully utilized. For example, if the LAGC IFQ vessel possession limit is 600 lb (272.2 kg) and the additional allowance to defray the cost of an observer is 200 lb/day (90.7 kg), the vessel fishing 24 hours or less could retain up to 800 lb (362.9 kg) when carrying an observer. If a vessel does not land its additional allowance on the trip while carrying an observer, the additional allowance will be added to the vessel's IFQ allocation, and it may land it on a subsequent trip. However, the vessel may not exceed the IFQ trip possession limit as described in § 648.52(a) unless it is actively carrying an observer.
( h ) *Possession limit to defray the cost of observers for NGOM vessels.* A NGOM vessel with an observer on board may retain, per observed trip, an allowance of scallops in addition to the possession limit, as established by the Regional Administrator in accordance with § 648.53(g), provided the observer set-aside specified in § 648.53(a)(8) has not been fully utilized. For example, if the NGOM vessel possession limit is 200 lb (90.7 kg) and the additional allowance to defray the cost of an observer is 125 lb (56.7 kg) per trip, the vessel could retain up to 325 lb (147.4 kg) when carrying an observer. The vessel may not exceed the possession limit as described in § 648.52(b) unless it is actively carrying an observer.
[73 FR 20122, Apr. 14, 2008, as amended at 74 FR 20555, May 4, 2009; 75 FR 36569, June 28, 2010; 76 FR 43763, July 21, 2011; 78 FR 27100, May 9, 2013; 81 FR 26375, May 4, 2016; 81 FR 76521, Nov. 3, 2016; 82 FR 15161, Mar. 27, 2017; 84 FR 11442, Apr. 1, 2019; 85 FR 17761, Mar. 31, 2020; 87 FR 1696, Jan. 12, 2022; 87 FR 18294, Mar. 30, 2022; 88 FR 19566, Apr. 3, 2023]